Now you can dedicate your loans!

Posted by Camille Ricketts on Oct 13, 2012

Kiva has introduced yet another way to share the power of micro-lending with your friends and family: Loan dedications.

Now you can celebrate or honor the special people in your life by making a loan in their name. When you choose this option, you give someone else the chance to see the difference loans can make in people's lives.

You'll also be making a difference for Kiva. Repayments for dedicated loans become donations that help us cover our operating expenses and reach more borrowers around the world.

What to love about dedicated loans:

1) Choice. You can dedicate any loan on Kiva. Find one that has special meaning for your honoree, reminds you of times spent together, etc. Loan dedications give you the option to attach a personal message to explain why you chose this loan just for them.

2) Makes a beautiful gift. Dedicated loans are truly gifts that keep giving. But they're also beautiful. When you dedicate a loan to someone, they'll receive a customized email and public dedication webpage that they can share with even more people -- or on Facebook.

Sample loan dedication email

Sample public loan dedication webpage.

3) Flexibility. When you include a personal message, you can choose for it to be displayed on the loan's public dedication page or remain private between you and your honoree.

4) Ease. Your honoree doesn't need to belong to Kiva to receive a dedicated loan. And you can easily keep track of loans you've dedicated. They'll appear on your Portfolio page just like regular loans, only designated with a heart symbol.

5) Multiplied impact. When you dedicate a loan, you're telling someone how special they are to you AND helping a borrower realize their dreams. But there's more. When that borrower repays the loan, Kiva will use those funds to put more staff in the field, provide more support for partners and borrowers, and expand our geographical footprint to change more lives. You'll be making it happen.